Sometimes picking apart a sentence is the only way to figure out what something means when you are a beginner. I started reading my Latin sentences from start to finish without rearranging the words quite awhile ago and now I can read all but the most complex sentences in this fashion. I recommend you do it this way, but there is no easy way to go about it that I am aware of.

(1) Read as much as you can, and widely. (2) Read out loud. (3) Read to the end of a sentence before trying to "translate". Preferably read to the end of a paragraph. (4) Don't translate anything onto paper until you have the sense clear in your head. (5) Don't bother translating if you understand the sentence without doing so. (6) Use what you do know and guesswork before looking anything up (always form a hypothesis before you look something up). But check guesswork when you remain unsure (one can go wildly wrong). (7) Never "scan forward" for verbs etc before reading the whole sentence. If you are stuck take it a word at a time. (8 ) Even if you cannot translate each word, try to get a general sense of the sentence's meaning. (9) Concentrate on vocabulary acquisition as much as on grammar acquisition: lack of vocab more often brings you to a grinding halt than lack of grammar. (10) Make sure you are really solid on those bits of grammar which give the readiest guidance and are least guessable, especially on verbs and pronouns, and most especially on verbs. (11) When, on a difficult sentence, you have translated, go back and read the sentence in Latin again a few times.

I know there is some inconsistency there. It doesn't always work. It will come in time, if you let it.

However, one thing that I find helps is listening to simple sentences without looking at the words. That forces you to take them in the order in which they are spoken. I have the Learn Latin Now! software, and it contains (among other things) the first unit of the Cambridge Latin course. You can close your eyes and listen to the sentences, starting from the most simple and then increasing in difficulty. Then you can open your eyes and see what you just heard. It is great and has been very helpful to me. After you finish that unit they also have more difficult readings to work through.

Last edited by klewlis on Tue Mar 02, 2004 3:40 am, edited 1 time in total.

klewlis: I envy your ability to learn by listening — I find it quite difficult to learn that way.

xn

It really does start you off simply enough that you can understand the sentences. For example, the very first sentence is "Caecilius est in horto." So you listen to it, then you look at the words, and if necessary you can click on each word for a definition and declension/conjugation. When it gets to longer sentences, it gives you a phrase at a time so that you are not overwhelmed!

Or you can just read it without the audio, which I also do sometimes. But then we get back to your original question. :)

I got it at a computer software store. I just checked Amazon but they say it is not available right now. Check computer stores. You can also buy it from the manufacturer but that price is way more than I paid... I think I only paid around $60 CDN so you might want to look for a better price.

In our own languages we prolly chop up sentences too, only we do it so quickly we do not even notice anymore.
Latin needs to be chopped up so often because only the true literature and best texts were preserved (simpleness had no place then), which are the reason sentences are often so long.

Evito wrote:In our own languages we prolly chop up sentences too, only we do it so quickly we do not even notice anymore.Latin needs to be chopped up so often because only the true literature and best texts were preserved (simpleness had no place then), which are the reason sentences are often so long.

In every language we do garmmatically breakdown a sentence, but we do not look for different parts (subject, then verb) when we are being spoken to. We all use the method of hearing each word in succession and then translating at the end. Because we have learned a native language, we are very efficiant at translating that language and guessing the meaning from the context before the last word is spoken. In theory, it should be easier to learn this method in a language that has very rigid grammatical rules like latin, but this method of translating one word at a time is hard to find.

Hmmm.. this sounds interesting. How much Latin does this software cover?

hm... that's a tough question to answer since I haven't reached the end of it yet!

It's not set up like a grammar textbook, so it doesn't explain all the grammatical stuff. Instead, it simply provides readings, starting with Unit 1 of the Cambridge Latin course and then moving on to other readings. I'm on the second part, which is all adapted mythology... from Ovid I believe (did he write mythology?). I believe the third part is based on Scipio, but I haven't looked at that yet. It's very well graded so that the difficulty gradually increases. You can listen to every sentence or individual word pronounced, and you can also click on any word for its definition and morphological details. I believe that the readings do cover all of the grammar that we learn in a textbook.

It also has quizzes and games to help in drilling.

In short, it's a fantastic *supplement* to your regular latin textbook. I love it, and it provides something different and interesting when you are feeling bogged down. ;)

benissimus wrote:Sometimes picking apart a sentence is the only way to figure out what something means when you are a beginner....l

I suspect that that sort of involved long sentence with words rearranged for written literary effect might have caused difficulty to a hearer (rather than to a reader) even to a Roman who had learned Latin natively from his parents as his first language. A reader can take his time understanding the text; a hearer has to understand it at once.